Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI) today announced an agreement for all of its ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliates to be carried in their respective markets as YouTube TV launches in those markets. As part of this agreement, YouTube TV will also deliver Tennis Channel to all of its members. The Companies also expect YouTube TV to expand its offering to include Sinclair’s CW and MyNetworkTV stations, as well as the 24-hour science fiction channel, Comet TV.

“We are excited to announce this agreement with YouTube TV which is quickly expanding to cover more cities across the country and includes popular local, network and sports programming,” said Barry Faber, Sinclair’s Executive Vice President for Distribution and Network Relations. “We believe that our viewers want the ability to access content on any screen and having this relationship with YouTube will provide value to not only our viewers, but our advertising relationships as well. We appreciate that Google, the owner of YouTube TV, recognized the importance of carrying all of the local broadcast affiliates in their effort to attract subscribers to this new service.”

]]>http://sportsmediareport.net/2017/08/18/sinclair-announces-agreement-with-youtube-tv-includes-carriage-of-tennis-channel-to-all-subscribers/feed/0ESPN2, ESPN3 To Air Mylan WTT Finals Fridayhttp://sportsmediareport.net/2017/08/03/espn2-espn3-to-air-mylan-wtt-finals-friday/
http://sportsmediareport.net/2017/08/03/espn2-espn3-to-air-mylan-wtt-finals-friday/#commentsThu, 03 Aug 2017 20:41:06 +0000http://sportsmediareport.net/?p=2250The Mylan World TeamTennis presented by GEICO Finals between the Orange County Breakers and San Diego Aviators on Friday will air on ESPN3 at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT with ESPN2 joining the live coverage at midnight ET / 9 p.m. PT.

The teams will face off in a rematch of last year’s Mylan WTT Finals at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., after both teams finished the regular season with identical 9-5 records.

Mylan WTT’s newest innovation will be an integral part of the championship match broadcast. Players from both teams will be mic’d up with Quantum5X (Q5X) QT-5100 PlayerMics, wireless microphone transmitters that capture on-court action. The technology, a first for pro tennis competition, gives fans unprecedented access into real-time strategy and discussions with players and coaches.

As a result of winning a head-to-head tiebreaker (games won), the Breakers will set the order of play in the title match, looking to flip the script from the 2016 championship. The Aviators prevailed one year ago 25-14 to claim their first Mylan WTT title. The Breakers last won the championship in 2004.

San Diego’s Raven Klaasen, the 2016 Mylan WTT Finals MVP, is joined by fellow championship team member Darija Jurak, his regular ATP World Tour doubles partner Rajeev Ram, and Great Britain’s Naomi Broady on the Aviators roster.

The Breakers feature a completely revamped lineup this time around in Yanina Wickmayer, Teymuraz Gabashvili, Andreja Klepac and Ken Skupski. The two teams split their regular season meetings at 2-2, with each winning on their home court, respectively.

Mylan World TeamTennis is teaming up with ESPN to bring another innovation to the sport with the introduction of Quantum5X (Q5X) QT-5100 PlayerMics, on-player wireless microphones that capture on-court action. For the first time in professional tennis competition, players will wear wireless microphone transmitters in Mylan WTT matches this summer, bringing unprecedented audio sounds and effects to the league’s live broadcasts.

“We are constantly looking for ground-breaking ways to help fans get closer to the action and to help them fully appreciate the high level of athleticism and intensity when the best players in the world are on the court,” said Mark Ein, World TeamTennis co-owner. Ein, who also owns the Washington Kastles franchise, added “This new technology will provide an unprecedented level of access and texture to pro tennis broadcasts and follow a long history of industry-leading innovation in World TeamTennis over the last 43 years.”

The PlayerMic, which was tested in video replays on July 16 at the New York Empire’s home match, makes its live pro tennis debut on July 18 when the Washington Kastles host New York at the Smith Center at George Washington University. ESPN3 will air 12 Mylan WTT matches during the three-week season, and the July 18 match will also be broadcast live on Tennis Channel and Comcast SportsNet.

Utilizing the same specialty wireless audio system that Q5X developed in partnership with Bexel, a leading broadcast technology and production services company, Mylan WTT will select players in each broadcast match to showcase “Sounds of the Court”. Bexel is providing the player microphone technology, which includes sourcing the Quantum QT-5100 PlayerMic for integration into the match broadcasts. Players will wear the concealed mic and lightweight wireless transmitter, which weighs less than two ounces and is only 1/3 inch thick. A remote control device will be able to turn the sound relay on or off during play. Two to three players and each coach will be mic’d up nightly throughout the match and on the bench.

Mylan WTT CEO/Commissioner Ilana Kloss, who has been talking to players during Wimbledon, says the response has been very positive. “Tennis players have seen the impact of this technology in basketball and football in more closely connecting athletes to their fans and are thrilled to try it on the WTT court this season,” said Kloss.

The Kastles lineup for their home opener on Tuesday features two-time league MVP Martina Hingis and rising American star Frances Tiafoe as the team celebrates the start of their 10th anniversary season. In only one decade, Washington has won a record-tying six WTT championships.

As an industry leader and innovator over the past four decades, Mylan WTT has been at the forefront of introducing game-changing advancements to tennis including: a service clock, instant replay, teams featuring men and women in equal roles, cumulative and no-ad scoring, on-court coaching and timeouts, Extended Play and Supertiebreakers, multi-colored courts and player names on the back of shirts.

The 2017 season of Mylan World TeamTennis presented by GEICO begins July 16 and concludes with the Mylan WTT Finals on August 5 in Carlsbad, Calif. Mylan WTT matches will air throughout July and August on ESPN3, Tennis Channel, and a number of regional sports networks including Comcast SportsNet, Altitude, Mediacom and MSG. ESPN2 will join the coverage of the Mylan WTT Finals on August 5 when the top two teams from the regular season face off for the King Trophy at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. The San Diego Aviators are the defending Mylan WTT champions.

Today, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) and Tennis Channel announced that they have expanded their relationship, beyond the Nielsen Local TV Ratings Service, to also include Nielsen’s National TV Ratings service. Tennis Channel is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both professional tennis and its lifestyle.

This multi-year agreement provides Tennis Channel with national ratings insights, giving them full flexibility in analyzing minute-by-minute viewership information and daily measurement of commercial and program performance. The use of Nielsen’s rich and deep-level data will enable Tennis Channel to offer agencies and advertisers the information they need to make smarter and more strategic media buying decisions.

“With today’s ever changing media landscape, it’s important for us to get insights into our viewers in order to assess our performance,” said Steve Badeau, Senior Vice President of Research, Tennis Channel. “By expanding our relationship with Nielsen, to include National TV Ratings, we’ll now have a complete view of our audience across local and national TV. Nielsen continues to evolve and provide offerings that allow us to showcase the growing fan base of tennis to our valuable and potential advertisers.”

In addition, the agreement gives Tennis Channel access to other Nielsen products and services. The expanded relationship delivers limitless opportunities for detailed and complete analysis of TV audiences including time-shifted viewing, custom demographics and TV consumption habits. Nielsen will also provide Tennis Channel with comprehensive and actionable advertising intelligence that alerts them of changes in ad spend across multiple categories, markets and media.

“We are delighted to expand our relationship with Tennis Channel,” said Peter Bradbury, Managing Director of Nielsen National Television Client Solutions. “At Nielsen, we are committed to providing our clients best-in-class products that deliver valuable insights into their viewers and support their ad sales process. We look forward to working closely with Tennis Channel and to helping enable their business success with our suite of gold-standard, independent and accredited measurement solutions.”

]]>http://sportsmediareport.net/2017/07/10/nielsen-and-tennis-channel-extend-agreement-to-include-national-tv-ratings/feed/0USTA, French Tennis Federation Look To Turn Marketing Green Into Red Clay Goldhttp://sportsmediareport.net/2017/02/22/usta-french-tennis-federation-look-to-turn-marketing-green-into-ted-clay-gold/
http://sportsmediareport.net/2017/02/22/usta-french-tennis-federation-look-to-turn-marketing-green-into-ted-clay-gold/#commentsWed, 22 Feb 2017 16:50:27 +0000http://sportsmediareport.net/?p=1946American tennis and red clay have not been the best of matchups over the years—A Williams sister here, a Roddick there, even a random Capriati—but overall U.S. success has been on hard surfaces and grass. Maybe that can finally start to change via a new business- supported partnership at the grassroots level between the USTA and the French Tennis Federation.

“Rendez-vous à Roland-Garros in partnership with Longines,” a U.S.-only junior tennis invitational, will provide for the first time a chance for a wild card entry to the French Open Junior Tournament for American juniors it was announced Wednesday. The event will be held from April 19–22 at the Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, with newly laid red clay courts to simulate the Roland-Garros atmosphere. Some of the top U-18 American players (boys and girls) will compete for a chance to enter the Roland-Garros Junior draw in Paris in May 2017.

“We are very pleased to bring Rendez-vous à Roland-Garros to the United States and strengthen the relationship between our nations and among the exceptional youth athletes,” said Bernard Giudicelli, President of FFT in a release. “Roland-Garros fosters a spirit of international competition and respect that will continue to grow with the next generation of tennis champions through this unique program.”

“We see this as a collaboration that is beneficial for everyone,” added USTA President Katrina Adams. “Not only is this a valuable opportunity for some of our American juniors to get experience playing on red clay, it’s a unique way to promote the sport of tennis ahead of the French Open with what figures to be an exciting competition for both players and fans.”

As part of the inaugural event, the iconic Trophies from the French Open, the Coupe des Mousquetaires and the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, will travel to South Florida, allowing fans the opportunity to pose for photos with the Trophies at multiple locations in Miami and Boca Raton during the tournament. Longines corporate marketing support makes it all happen.

Now of course this is just one step in an ongoing process that has already begun with the new USTA facility in Florida. However steps need opportunity, and this event can provide just that for a young American who may not have had the chance to go to Paris. A step on red clay in the right direction.

]]>http://sportsmediareport.net/2017/02/22/usta-french-tennis-federation-look-to-turn-marketing-green-into-ted-clay-gold/feed/0Mylan World TeamTennis Begins Sunday on ESPN3, Finals Live on ESPN2http://sportsmediareport.net/2016/07/27/mylan-world-teamtennis-begins-sunday-on-espn3-finals-live-on-espn2/
http://sportsmediareport.net/2016/07/27/mylan-world-teamtennis-begins-sunday-on-espn3-finals-live-on-espn2/#commentsWed, 27 Jul 2016 22:22:59 +0000http://sportsmediareport.net/?p=1579The Mylan World TeamTennis (WTT) season begins Sunday, July 31, with 15 matches on ESPN3, concluding with the finals live on ESPN2 on Friday, Aug. 26. The season kicks off at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday with five-time defending champions – the Washington Kastles – facing off against a new team this year based in New York City – the New York Empire. The New York Empire will play their home matches throughout the season at the old US Open grounds in Forest Hills, NY, which is also where the World TeamTennis Championship will be held on Friday, Aug. 26.

The Kastles are looking to win their sixth straight season this year with an impressive team that includes top-ranked doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, returning marquee player Martina Hingis, world top-20 Nick Kyrgios and American standout Sam Querrey. However, the New York Empire is headlined by former world No. 1 Andy Roddick with ESPN commentator and former tour player Patrick McEnroe coaching the team in their inaugural season.

The other teams for the 2016 season are the Philadelphia Freedoms owned by league co-founder Billie Jean King, the Missouri-based Springfield Lasers headlined by American top-20 player John Isner, the San Diego Aviators and the Orange County Breakers (formerly the Austin Aces).

The regular season closes out with the anticipated matchup between the Orange County Breakers and the Washington Kastles. The Breakers played in Newport Beach, Calif., from 2003 to 2013, before moving to Austin for the past two seasons, renaming the franchise the Austin Aces. Last year, the Aces made it into the final, only to be defeated by none other than the Washington Kastles. The team returns to Orange County this year at the Newport Beach Tennis Club.

The Mylan WTT Finals will air on Friday, Aug. 26, on ESPN3 at 3:45 p.m. with ESPN2 joining the coverage at 5 p.m. as the best in professional team tennis battle for the King Trophy, named after the league co-founder Billie Jean King.

Later this year, World TeamTennis Smash Hits returns to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 10. The annual charity tennis event will be co-hosted by Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King with John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport headlining the tennis event. The action begins at 7 p.m. on a specially-constructed tennis court in the valet parking lot adjacent to Caesars Palace Drive.

]]>http://sportsmediareport.net/2016/07/27/mylan-world-teamtennis-begins-sunday-on-espn3-finals-live-on-espn2/feed/0Amy Lawrence Named ‘Voice of the New York Empire’http://sportsmediareport.net/2016/05/10/amy-lawrence-named-voice-of-the-new-york-empire/
http://sportsmediareport.net/2016/05/10/amy-lawrence-named-voice-of-the-new-york-empire/#commentsTue, 10 May 2016 14:23:52 +0000http://sportsmediareport.net/?p=1292CBS Sports Radio host and Gracie Award winner Amy Lawrence will serve as the “Voice of the New York Empire” for the squad’s upcoming inaugural Mylan World TeamTennis season, July 31 through August 12 at historic Forest Hills Stadium at The West Side Tennis Club, the team announced today. The host of the popular overnight radio program “After Hours with Amy Lawrence,” heard on hundreds of stations nationwide, online and via mobile app, will help the crowd follow along with all the action as well as host interviews with coaches and players during the six home matches of the NY Empire presented by Citi.

A well-traveled veteran and pioneer of sports radio and television, Lawrence has been with CBS Radio since 2013 and recently won a Gracie Award for best host of a sports program. She previously spent nine years at ESPN Radio where she was the only regular female host. Local radio stops include Providence, R.I.; Lebanon, N.H.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Oklahoma City, Okla., where she was the first female in state history to pilot her own sports radio talk show.

Lawrence has handled basketball play-by-play and color duties for various radio and TV outlets over the past 15 years, and served as the voice of University of Hartford women’s hoops for six seasons (2008-14). She recently called her first two games on the Westwood One Radio Network, including an NCAA Tournament Regional Final. She has also emceed events at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., introducing and interviewing players.

“We are excited to have someone as creative and energetic as Amy Lawrence bring her voice to Empire matches this summer,” said Empire General Manager, Colleen Hopkins. “Her skill sets will be vital in highlighting the competitive, exciting atmosphere that is New York Empire Tennis, as well as bringing the fans as close as possible to the players and on-court strategy.”

Two former World No. 1 players are among the talent that will hit the courts this summer at The West Side Tennis Club. WTA Tour star Caroline Wozniacki will lead her Philadelphia Freedoms into town on August 1 and the Empire’s Andy Roddick will play for the first time in Forest Hills on August 9. The Empire’s full season roster also includes New Jersey resident Christina McHale who upset world No. 20 Karolina Pliskova last Monday at a WTA tournament in Madrid. Other Empire home dates are July 31, August 3, August 11 and August 12.

Tickets for all home matches are on sale online at www.nyempiretennis.com. VIP ticket packages are also on sale and include Courtside Tables, Front Row Baseline Boxes and Premium Baseline Individual Season Tickets. VIP packages include access to full food and beverage service, hospitality opportunities with our players and coach, and much more. For full pricing details, general information, or to place an order, email Brian Healey at brian@nyempiretennis.com or call (844) 5-EMPIRE (844-536-7473).

Fans can follow the team at www.NYEmpireTennis.com and on Twitter (@nyempiretennis) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/NYEmpireTennis).

]]>http://sportsmediareport.net/2016/05/10/amy-lawrence-named-voice-of-the-new-york-empire/feed/0World Tennis With Harry Cicma – Returns For 8th Season – Airing On National And International Televisionhttp://sportsmediareport.net/2016/03/29/world-tennis-with-harry-cicma-returns-for-8th-season-airing-on-national-and-international-television/
http://sportsmediareport.net/2016/03/29/world-tennis-with-harry-cicma-returns-for-8th-season-airing-on-national-and-international-television/#commentsTue, 29 Mar 2016 14:30:03 +0000http://sportsmediareport.net/?p=1206“World Tennis with Harry Cicma” will return for an eighth season on National and International Television. The Series will premiere on June 1st, and consists of 12 Episodes, each airing twice for 12 consecutive weeks.

BUCKiTDREAM (Buckitdream.com) has joined as the main Title Sponsor for International and National Broadcasts, and Albrecht Automotive (AlbrechtAuto.com) continues it’s longstanding partnership, as the Title sponsor on NESN-TV. World Tennis TV airs throughout the United States on Regional Sports Networks; and is also distributed Worldwide on: Sky TV Moda, ROOT FOX Sports Net, Film on TV Network and Untamed Network (check local listings).

The New England Sports Network (NESN) is the flagship station for both the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins and is available on New England cable systems and nationally – in both standard definition and high definition through satellite TV providers DirectTV (Channel 628) and Dish Network (Channel 434). The Red Sox are a co-founder and majority owner (80 percent) of NESN with the Bruins owning the remaining 20 percent. NESN is delivered to over 4 million homes throughout New England and consistently receives higher ratings of any other national or regional sports channels in the region combined.

Cicma is an Emmy award-winning reporter and on-air correspondent for NBC Sports and WNBC News, the former sports producer and anchor at NBC in Providence, R.I. and CBS in Springfield, Mass., and ABC in Sioux City, Iowa. He is the co-founder and host of “World Tennis with Harry Cicma” and also served as a commentator for other networks including Fox Sports Net and Tennis Channel and the U.S. Open tennis championship’s world feed. He is the TV voice of World Team Tennis, also host & producer of FOX Sports’ Ping Pong coverage, along with other productions on SNY, FOX, NESN and Comcast SportsNet. A former world-ranked doubles player, he is a graduate of Rutgers University. World Tennis is produced by Harry Cicma Productions LLC (HarryCicmaProductions.com).